Battle of the XBOX 360 racers!

With the introduction of XBOX 360 comes 4 racing games. Full Auto was added much later. That makes it 5 racing games! Now, which one should you be spending you money on?

Project Gotham Racing 3 (****)

The replica of Xbox's Forza Motorsport -- with better graphics, of course! Beautiful cars, but somewhat slow gameplay. Gamers looking for hard and fast action will be better off buying other games.



Burnout Revenge (** Extremely lame!) --- Tried!

The improved version of the XBOX's racing game is here! Tuned for the XBOX 360, it boasts better graphics and some new goodies but overall, it still quite the same. The few number of tracks may be a deterring factor for gamers.




Full Auto (**)

Gamers might be tempted by its screenshots and trailers available at several gaming sites but numerous reviews suggest otherwise. Psst ... May be worse than Burnout Revenge!



Ridge Racer 6 (***)

Critisized by many for its complex controls and lousy A.I, I recommend that you buy it at your own risk. May not turn out as what it seems!





Need for Speed Most Wanted (***** Memorable) --- Tried!

Think about cops and customizing your cars as if you are a super rich street racer! One-of-a-kind storyplot ending for a racing game. Wait, a storyplot? First in a racing game! Highly recommended for all! Warning: Must not be played excessively in a day to avoid repetitive gameplay!

Nintendo DS Lite: How good will it be?

The typical Nintendo style. This time, it has sent the Nintendo DS for a slimming session, just like what it did to the Game Boy Advance. The DS lite has little difference from the orginal. Instead of the stylus, sliding in beneath the DS, it will slide into the side of the DS lite. The 'select' and 'start' buttons have been relocated and so is the microphone. The most distinctive difference from the original DS is the size and weight. It weighs a light 218g, down from the original 275g and the size gets a little smaller. The backlit screen now has 4 different level of brightness. That's nice to hear, considering that I find that the current DS's screen a little dark. The orginal calmshell design is still retained. Umh, no much change, but according to some rumors, its cost will be close to the PSP's! This i-pod-like machine already has all its buttons' color changed from black to white and grey. It is already launched in Japan and will launch in other countries in May (if I am not mistaken). May! Save your money! Get this seducing machine when it arrives, if you have the cash to spare. If not, I think the original DS is just as good. They still play the same games, right? And wait a minute, why didn't Nintendo consider adding a analogue stick? That will be amazing! Nintendo fans will have a busy year because more good games like New Super Mario Bros. and Guilty Gear Dust Strikers are arriving too.

Game Review 12: Resident Evil Deadly Silence

The original Resident Evil 1 from the PlayStation 1 makes its arrival to the DS system, but before jumping into this game, just ask yourself, how many time have you played it before? Sure, Resident Evil DS has both the unchanged version of RE 1 and a slightly modified version that utilises the touch screen. There is also multiplayer, but are all these little things worth every of your penny? Before picking up my copy of RE DS, I was a stranger to the RE franchise. I have never played a single RE game before, so I pounced on RE DS immediately after it was released, thinking that it was another RE 4 but to my ultimate horror, this game is a failure in almost every aspect, especially the controls. Instead of using the analogue stick to control movement and aiming, which you will be familiar with nowadays, I found myself pressing angrily at the D-pad, which is what you press for movement and aiming. Can you imagine aiming with a stupid D-pad? It is so slow and fustrating. To make matters worse, while you are aiming, your chracter cannot move a single inch, making it very vulnerable to fast enemies like the crows and hounds, which you will find very difficult killing, thanks to the D-pad! RE DS eventually becomes inplayable in the later stages because the opposition gets stronger and more in numbers. That is when the D-pad cannot handle it anymore. Please do not be alarmed if your character has to die endless times. Just be careful not to throw your DS on the floor and pull your hair in fustration. In both the classics mode (RE 1) and the rebirth mode (slightly modified), the very dated graphics remain unchanged, which is a total let down. The inventory menu also has an antique feel, so old, that you will start feeling nostalgic. The only good one is the audio, which has an eerie feeling so that the game does not feel so boring and meaningless. The touch screen puzzles are quite simple and no credits for it. The puzzles are just a minor part of the game, although it decides the difference between being stuck in a level and progressing at times. The opposition is few in variety, and so do the weapons, making the game worse! You will also find yourself running out of ammo quite often. Overall, RE DS is bad, very badly done, I mean. It needs change! For gamers wanting to seek thrill and fun out of RE DS, fat hope! Stay away from this nonsense -- unless you are a true RE fan and you want to break the records for playing the most RE games, of course. I want my money back for this haphazard-quality game!

Overall score: 6.7/10
Platform available: Nintendo DS
Games with lower (passing) scores: Burnout Revenge (6.5/10), WWE WrestleMania 21 (5.5/10)